One small step for Microsoft and Yahoo, one giant ball of confusion for web-kind.
After threatening Yahoo with a hostile takeover, Microsoft is finally sitting at a table with Yahoo and trying to iron out a friendly deal, according to a couple reports. It's a shift in strategy for Microsoft, which has alternately threatened to walk away, go hostile, or launch a proxy battle over the last 7 days.
Microsoft upped the offer by several dollars, according to the New York Times DealBook blog. Several shareholders said they received a "flurry" of calls (from both Microsoft and Yahoo) surveying them on what would be the most acceptable price. Sources told the Wall Street Journal that shareholders are holding out for something in the range of $35 to $37 per share, while Microsoft has indicated a willingness to go to $33 per share.
It's a delicate situation, though, and sources told the Times that talks could collapse at any given moment. That sentiment was reiterated to the Journal, too: "[Sources] cautioned that the talks could fail to produce an accord, as have previous attempts to reach a deal," the Journal report said.
Photo: Flickr/creepysleepy
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